The Ether Witch

Eli climbed the stairs to the top deck, her employer’s son at her side.

She hadn’t looked at him, nor said a word to the boy since he had discovered her secret, and this was because she worried that a child wouldn’t be able to stop asking her questions about why she would hide her gender…

As it was, the boy hadn’t breathed a word, though Eli wasn’t certain that that was any better as she was constantly tense, waiting for it to begin. Even though she assumed Tam must have said something, she knew people’s curiosities often got the better of them.

“Oh.”

Eli jumped at the lone word the boy had uttered, then realized why he had when she looked to the port side of the deck, and saw Tam sitting at a small round table with two other chairs pulled up, that, under the light of a brass three candlestick holder they could see was ladened with tea and cakes.

The future duke sat with his back to them, a book in his lap as he gazed up at the sky, a far off glint in his eyes and a smile on his face. For some reason, Eli couldn’t take her eyes off Tam’s profile at that moment… The gentle rise and fall of the ship beneath their boots, the brilliant starry sky above them… There was something about the moment that struck her…

A gentle tug on Eli’s hand snapped her out of her thoughts.

“He’s waiting for us,” the boy whispered, excitement in his eyes.

Blinking past her distracted moment, and bowing her head to the child, they proceeded on to the table.

“Good evening, Lord Tam.” Eli bowed.

Tam looked over his shoulder with a smile and stood from his seat to gesture to the other two chairs. “Hello to you both. Sorry I had to leave you be for a few hours, I had to brush up on some of my constellations.”

More like you are struggling to wrap your head around either being a father or being close to the devil. Eli thought to herself knowingly.

Though she couldn’t really blame her employer for needing to take time to process his present circumstances… Very few people would handle it even as well as he was…

Once the trio had seated themselves back down, Eli reached over to the tea pot and started pouring out whatever her employer had brewed, though she was unaware her arched eyebrow was betraying her dubiousness.

Tam grinned knowingly. “I selected a rooibos tea. I know it’s more forgiving for oafs like myself who aren’t as refined with their tastes.”

Eli’s face flushed, as the familiar scent of rooibos wafted up to her… Only…

“Rooibos isn’t really a tea and- Is there… dried orange in this?” she asked interestedly, her brown eyes falling to her white porcelain cup interestedly.

“Yes, there is,” Tam returned with a smile. “And yes, rooibos tea is not like black tea, or herbal teas--”

“It is more like an infusement than a tea. Rooibos tea comes from Lobahl… though I’ve never tried any that had orange mixed in…”

“That would be because this is from my father’s friend, Mr. Jelani. He is an earth witch and he loves to see what food combinations my da can come up with with the fruits and plants he grows from his home,” Tam explained while also slipping some buttery cookies onto a plate and placing them in front of the boy who had been listening attentively until he was faced with a cup of warm tea and treats.

Eli didn’t say anything in response as her slim fingers wrapped around her cup, and she allowed the comforting warmth to send goosebumps up her arms as the sea breeze tried to chill her. Lifting the cup, she sipped it tentatively… Then perked up.

“Aside from the fact you still oversteeped this, it has quite a lovely flavor!”

Tam smiled as he then turned his attention to the boy who sipped it dubiously.

“I thought so, too. My father always pairs it with lighter flavored snacks. Things like scones, butter or nut cookies, and they are always a nice light bedtime snack to have with the tea,” Tam recounted fondly as he picked up a cookie himself and sat back in his chair to enjoy the food.

After polishing off most of the cookies and tea, the trio were feeling quite content with their sated states, and so Tam set his book on the table, opened it to a page he had bookmarked with a red ribbon, and then reached down to his side where an open case sat with his sextant.

“Now, the first constellation I’m going to be showing you today,” Tam addressed his son. “Is The Three Fish.”

Both the dark haired child and Eli stared blankly back at him, but Tam didn’t mind as he set to lifting the sextant to his right eye, and peered southeast of the ship.

“Now, with all constellations, there are stories.”

“Why?” the child asked before he could stop himself.

“To make it more fun to remember which stars are where. You see, stars help sailors and travelers on land navigate where they are going. But if you’re going to use them to figure out where you are, you need to remember what they look like, and so, people thought of stories. However…” A delighted enigmatic spark twinkled in Tam’s eye. “There are some that think the Gods used the stars to show the history of our world.”

Both Eli and the boy leaned closer, completely entranced.

“Whether you choose to believe that or not is entirely up to you, but more people think that way than you know. Astrology has fallen out of interest in nearly all the kingdoms in the past two hundred years or so, but, around a hundred years ago, a Troivackian scholar decided that we couldn’t lose these stories– he sincerely believed that the Gods had given us these stars for a reason. So he traveled every kingdom–”

“Even Lobahl?” the boy interrupted with wide-eyed wonder.

Tam nodded. “Especially Lobahl. You see, Lobahl is far more advanced than any other kingdom, and a large pillar of their beliefs in their society involves the stars.”

“How do you know this?” Eli wondered aloud, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“My father’s friend, Mr. Jelani. I wheedled it out of him with the help of his two children. Though the both of you need to keep it a secret. Alright?”

While the boy smiled, Eli’s gaze darted uncertainly to her employer. Should he really be sharing any kind of secret with the possible devil?

“Now, the first story of The Three Fish, is one of the oldest, and yet not many people have heard about it.”

Tam held out the sextant to the boy, and pointed southeast. “Do you see the grouping of stars that look like three whirls connected? Almost like a windmill without its base?”

The boy squinted, his mouth pursing and twisting until at last it split back into a smile. “I think so!”

“Excellent. Those three whirls signify the three times of day in the Goddess’s pool that each of the fish swim. And depending on the fish that is swimming, the holy properties of the water changes. In the morning, the fish that sees the past, present, and future swims. It is said the Goddess and Green Man drink from this pool when this fish swims in order to see all that has been, that is, and what will be. The second fish arrives after the high sun while the first fish returns to the streams underground to rest. The second fish knows magic both innately and its spoken language.”

The boy lowered the sextant and stared at Tam, his eyes wide, and his bum on the edge of his seat.

“The Goddess and Green Man use the water this fish swims in when they create a new witch, and it is only during this time, that the crystals that line the bottom of this sacred pool, can be plucked out.”

“Are those the mage crystals?” Eli speculated while she, too, had huddled closer with her tea cup still clasped in her hands.

Tam tilted his head. “They are indeed. In this tale, while witches were made of the water, the first mage was given a vial of the water to drink after begging the Green Man, and so that is how he learned the language of magic, and so, he wrote it down for others to learn as well. Though he can only summon magic from the Goddess’s pool through their crystals.”

The helmsman steering the ship handed the wheel off to his crewmate then, and for a moment, the sails fluttered and the candles on the trio’s little table flickered as it took a few breaths for the new helmsman to find the winds again.

Despite this slight interruption, neither Eli nor the young boy had lost focus for even an instant, and so, Tam took another sip of his tea, and continued.

“The third, and final fish… Is the chaos fish.”

Eli let out a giggle.

It was so uncharacteristically feminine of her that it made Tam laugh a little while she cleared her throat awkwardly.

“What’s a chaos fish?!” The poor child couldn’t handle any delays getting between himself and the answers.

“The chaos fish… Well, she swims at night, and it is said that when the balance of the world is in danger, the Gods creates chosen beings to be molded with its waters,” Tam explained while leaning forward in his seat to rest his elbows on his knees, bringing him closer to his son.

“Have they ever given the water to someone to drink like they did with the magic fish?” Eli pondered aloud.

“Some Lobahlans think so; however, the Troivackian astrologist I mentioned before? He doesn't believe that is the case, nor does he really think that the Gods create beings with the water– as that would be cruel in a way… What he hypothesized in his work, was that whenever the world needed a change, the Gods would simply fling a cup of water over us, and thunderstorms, tidal waves, or earthquakes would reset what had grown uneven.”

“What do you think, Tam?” the boy asked, hanging off every word that fell from the future duke’s mouth.

Tam leaned back in his seat thoughtfully. “I think… The Gods decided to use chaos water to make my father and sister’s familiars, Kraken, and Pina. I mean, I’m sure even you know about those two, right?”

The child nodded with a laugh visibly bubbling up his throat, when his shoulders suddenly slumped forward. “I like the story a lot, but…”

“But?” Tom prompted gently.

“There weren’t any names in it.”

Tam jolted in surprise, then was awash in guilt.

The poor boy had to be eager for a name, and here he had dragged on a story where they couldn’t find one…

“What was the name of the Troivackian astrologer?” Eli interjected with moderately forced brightness; her hint obvious.

“Ah, it was Luca Bilgin…” Tam looked down at the child’s crestfallen expression and a knowing warmth spread in his chest. “Luca.”

The child looked dazedly up at his father.

“What do you think of being called Luca?” Tam’s voice was gentle, and he did his best to hide his preference in his tone in case the boy had an aversion to it…

“I… I like it a lot,” the child’s face broke into an excited smile, and tears started to fill his eyes in the glow of the candlelight. “Luca! My name is Luca!” His hands curled into fists as he then lowered his head. “Thank you, Tam… Thank you so much!”

Mortified in every sense of the word that his own son should bow to him, Tam reached out and gently clasped Luca’s shoulders. “Don’t ever bow to me. I’m sorry I made you wait before finding you a name.”

Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Luca shook his head. “I-It doesn’t matter! I now have a name!”

Tam smiled and gently rubbed the top of the boy’s head. “I’m glad you’re happy with your name, Luca. How about we finish our tea for the evening, and tomorrow night, I’ll tell you a new story about a different constellation.”

With tears still overflowing, and clear fluid leaking from his nose, Luca nodded, unable to hold back his emotions, forcing Tam to embrace his son for the first time since they met.

Eli watched from her seat feeling alarmingly overwhelmed with emotion due to how touching the scene was, but also because… She had anxiety brewing in her gut. While Luca had done absolutely nothing to be suspicious of, and had behaved every bit the way a normal seven year old would behave given the circumstances… She found she couldn’t quite free herself of the doubt that the devil was somehow tied to him…

And if he was?

Her heart ached terribly as she stared at her employer’s face as he still held the boy in his arms…

She had a feeling it would destroy Tam’s heart, as, despite his better judgment, in the span of a day, he had already started to love the child that he had named.